


Wise Up, Rise Up

by ladyarcherfan3



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Eirtae went from handmaiden to a Resistance granny, Gen, and the GOP, fuck trump, this is probably too much based on my real life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 16:30:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16329566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyarcherfan3/pseuds/ladyarcherfan3
Summary: It is easy to ignore the turmoil of the galaxy if it doesn't affect you - but that is how evil prevails.





	Wise Up, Rise Up

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting around in my drafts for awhile as I tried to work some of my rage and fear and frustration at the current political climate into my fics. And then once I wrote, it was such a catharsis that I didn't post it for a while. But I am still enraged, and this is based too much on my real life, but here it is. Many thanks to glorious_clio for her beta work and for being there for me with proverbial pot of tea to listen to me vent as needed. 
> 
> Title is from Hamilton's "My Shot".

News of what had happened to the Hosnian system didn’t take long to ripple through the galaxy.  The elders in any community liked to complain about how much time the youth spent on social sharing platforms, but there was no denying that the galaxy was more connected by vast populations of the young people across planets than it had ever been in the past.  

“Kriff, kriff, kriff,” Lora swore as she flipped through sites on her datapad.  Multiple sources confirmed that the Hosnian system was gone, and the newscasts had started to pick it up as well, though they were far more hesitant to say what could have caused such destruction.  But every other source - individuals from neighboring systems, independent reporters - were all naming the First Order. Lora swore again, fear and anger and sorrow twisting her stomach.

“Language!” her mother called from the other room.

Lora rolled her eyes and bit back a retort.  While she was visiting she was expected to abide by her parents’ rules. But she was an adult, and multiple planets had just been obliterated.  If there was a time to swear, it was now. But she just said, “Sorry! Bad habits.”

“Can I get your help with the food?  Everyone should be here soon, and I want to start dinner on time.”

“Yeah, just a minute.”  She’d been excited to celebrate her father’s birthday and see her far flung siblings again.  Her mood had understandable tanked in the last minute. She opened a new tab and sent a message to her friend Mala.

_ -Are you seeing this?-  _  She quickly added a link from a reputable source so Mala would know exactly what she meant.

_ -Kriff-  _ was all that she got back.

“Lora.”

_ -We need to talk later. Gotta go, family stuff.- _

_ -Be careful. Don’t let anyone upset you more than you are now.- _

_ -I’ll try. No promises.- _

_ -My door is open when you make your escape.- _

_ -Thanks- _  She put her datapad down and hurried to the kitchen.  Her mother directed her to a pile of fruit to slice. 

Lora took a deep breath, but her hands shook and the fruit slices were uneven.  She froze as the music station that her mother had playing in the background cut out for a news bulletin.  It was about the Hosnian system. The report was bland, flat. No opinions were given, but it did state that the First Order was responsible.  No motives were forthcoming. 

Her mother sighed and shook her head.  “All those poor people.”

Lora put down the knife, flexed her fingers, and picked it up again.  “Aren’t you worried? The sounds like the Death Star again, only bigger.”

“If it is, the good people in the galaxy will make sure it is stopped before more harm happens.”

“As long as Naboo doesn’t have to send any soldiers, and we don’t have to do anything except send up some more prayers to the goddesses, right?”  Lora gritted out. 

“Lora.  We’ve talked about this.  We - the planet and our family - can’t be involved in every tragedy in the galaxy.  It isn’t possible. We can support Naboo, so the larger governing powers can make the good choices to help the best.  Now, please, for everyone’s sake tonight, be civil and have as much fun as you can.”

Her jaw ached as she turned back to the fruit slices.  It was an argument that had been going in fits and spurts for several years; Lora tried to draw attention to what she saw unfolding across the galaxy, and her parents ignored or calmed her by turns.  None of it touched them - yet - so they were not interested in the risk that change demanded. Her family wasn’t rich by any means, but they were pretty well off. And no one worked in anything close to politics, so there was no drive there either.  They were all in some sort of service industry, though not blue collar. Her father ran his own home repair business, her mother was a clerk at an information firm, and her siblings were teachers. Lora had found employment at a company similar to her mother’s, but it was just to pay the bills.  She had no passion for it, and she honestly wasn’t sure where her passion was anymore; childish dreams aside, she lacked direction. That was probably why she latched onto the idea of social change and was so terrified of what the First Order had been doing even before the Hosnian system. 

However, fighting for social change took courage and work and direction.  And she didn’t have any of those in appreciable amounts. A good work ethic, yes, but beyond that, she was clueless aside from the most basic ideas.  Her family certainly wasn’t interested in action. From the stories told by her relatives of the time spanning Palpatine’s rise as a senator to the Emperor, her family and Naboo as a whole had kept their heads down.  There initially had been a lot of support for Palpatine - first for his work to move to defensive war against the Trade Federation, and then to end the Clone Wars. He was of Naboo, and even when he took complete control, Naboo had benefited and felt the smallest waves of trouble from the war and galactic take over.  There had been negative feelings towards him, of course, but most of that disappeared with the Naboo space pilots as they slipped away after Palpatine disbanded the planet’s army. Everyone stayed quiet and let the rest of the galaxy work out their problems. 

It made Lora sick to see the same sort of patterns play out again.  She didn’t want to sit back and do nothing. Yet, she was terrified.  Even debating and arguing with her family was too much some days. What did she think she was going to do to make change against the First Order and the government that had let it flourish?

If no one else had brought it up, Lora could have made it through dinner without making a single comment, even if her smile was forced.  But her brother started it.

“Did you heard about the Hosnian system?  Boom, gone.”

“The Senate won’t let it stand,” her father replied, reaching for the water pitcher, his tone suggesting the topic was closed.

“The First Order is the Senate!” Lora snapped before she could stop.  “The Senate was based on Hosnian Prime, there is no Senate now!”

She was met with silence from her mother and sister, and groans from her father and brother.  

“Can you stop with your radical stuff, just for tonight?  It gets sickening, and I still want cake,” her brother said.  

“It’s my birthday, can I please enjoy it without arguments?” her father added.  “No more politics at the table.”

Lora managed to make it through the rest of the meal and clean up before she had to bolt.  Claiming early morning work hours, she left the rest of her family playing board games and working their way through several bottles of wine.  

_ -Coming over now, still okay? _ \- she sent as she clambered into her speeder.

_ -Yes.  I’ll have tea ready-  _ was Mala’s quick reply.

A half hour later, Lora was curled up on Mala’s couch with a mug of herbal tea in her hands.  Mala nodded as Lora finished the rant about her family, the subject a familiar one. There had been more than one time that Mala had done the same thing on Lora’s couch.  

“How do they not understand how bad this is? That doing nothing is just as bad as outright support?”  She took a gulp of tea, which was lukewarm by that point. But the sweet taste helped calm her. “But I don’t know what to do, and I’m scared to do more than shout on the ‘net and stand in front of our representative’s offices until they decide they have time to meet with us.”

“Or send an intern, because they suddenly ‘had a meeting’,” Mala added with an eye roll.   

They both grimaced.  Mala had waited hours, the intern had come out of the office with an apology, but was willing to hear them out and pass on their concerns to her representative.  So she had given him a polite but impassioned speech with her concerns and suggestions. Afterwards, she still saw no response from the senator. It had been frustrating.

“And neither of us are pilots or soldiers, so it’s not like we can fight in that way,” Lora continued.  “Plus, who needs people in the Resistance with anxiety and depression? But we have to do something.”

Mala sighed.  “I know. But let’s get some more info about Hosnia first. Until then, you wanna watch a comedy? The day took it out of me. We’ll catch our breath and tomorrow find a way to help and fight back.”

‘Tomorrow’ turned out to be a few days later.  Both Lora and Mala had to get back to work and their lives until some definitive path could be found or made.  It was easy and comfortable and it made Lora’s skin prickle with guilt; she had the privilege that let her live out a comfortable life without having to think about the issues of Naboo or the larger galaxy in general if she didn’t want to.  But she did want to, and she wanted to help. 

She just finished with work and was heading to her speeder when she got a message from Mala.

_ -My place now.  This is BIG- _

Lora broke several speed limits and did more reckless driving than she was willing to admit to get to Mala’s place as fast as she could.  Once there, she was greeted with the familiar sight of Mala and her teapot at the table. There was an unfamiliar guest, however; and elderly woman with white hair and a strong countenance.

“Lora, this is Eirté A’Tare.  Eirte, this is my friend Lora that I was telling you about.”

“It is good to meet you,” Eirté said, with a faint incline of her head.  

Lora blined a few times as she sought to place the name.  “Oh, sweet goddesses, are you the same Eirté A’Tare that served Queen Amidala?”

“I am.”

Lora spun to Mala.  “How? When? Where?” 

“My mentor from university knows her, and she put me in contact with her, since she knows how I feel about wanting to do more about the state of the galaxy.”  She was almost vibrating out of her seat, eyes gleaming. “Please, Eirté, tell her the rest.”

“Of course.  After Queen Amidala joined the senate, I stepped away from being her handmaiden or any other queen’s handmaiden.  At any point, I could have come back to serve the Naboo royalty, but I chose not to. I started a different career, raised a family.”  She sighed. “I should have stayed more active in the political and social issues spheres. But family is a wonderful thing, and a wonderful distraction, at least for me.  It took until the last decade for me to get involved again. And I have been in contact with the Resistance. This came in yesterday.”

She set her datapad on the table and started an audio file.  A woman’s voice, rich but weary, spoke.

“This is General Leia Organa of the Resistance. We are in dire need of support and aid.  Our enemy is on our doorstep, and our fleet has been destroyed. Please, for the love of your freedom, respond.” 

“Goddesses preserve,” Lora whispered.  Had the sun disappeared from the sky or was it her own fear that made the room dark?  And there was so much fear in her. Fear for herself, her family, her planet, for the Resistance forces, for the galaxy.  

“Mala has told me that you both want to do more - and so do I.  I have the connections to know where to find General Organa. And I have my own ship to get me there.  There is room for passengers.” 

Lora looked over at Mala, and saw her own uncertainty reflected on her friend’s face.  They weren’t exactly the fighting forces that General Organa would be looking for. 

Eirté saw the look and said, “I assure you, the Resistance doesn’t just need people who can fire blasters and make stirring speeches and lead people into battle. Even when I was a handmaiden and followed Queen Amidala into battle, we had been just as strongly trained in matters of diplomacy and support.  We were there to help Padme so she didn’t have to think about doing her hair or deal with those ornate outfits on her own. She didn’t have to think about making food or hydrating, because we were there to support her and to think about those things. And the handmaidens outnumbered the Queen. The Resistance needs similar people.”

Mala caught Lora’s eye and grinned.  “I can make a mean cup of tea. They probably could use that in the Resistance.”

Lora offered a slower, still hesitant grin back.  “I know how to handle tedious work and a lot of hurry up and wait.  I probably could find a spot to be useful.”

Eirté looked between them, expression solemn.  “Just take a moment. I know you want to help. But this means leaving your families, leaving behind the comforts you have here.  We will have hope and determination but little else with the Resistance. Is this still something you want to do?”

Lora looked down at her hands, clenched together on the table top.  She disagreed with her family, but didn’t ever want to cut them out of her life entirely.  She didn’t want to leave her comfy apartment and the familiarity of her job. At the same time, more and more of her nights had become sleepless as the news of the galaxy poured in.  Sacrifices had to be made to cause change. This was the chance she had wanted, the direction and support she needed to start on this difficult path. The risks were high, and her family would be hurt and confused.  But they would understand, eventually, she hoped. Just as she hoped that her small part would bring about a change for the good of the galaxy. She looked back up at Mala and Eirté.

“When do we start?”  


End file.
